Police say an attempt to quell a domestic dispute in Arabi early this morning turned into a deadly shooting incident for a St. Bernard Deputy.
Chief Deputy Jimmy Pohlmann says that as a deputy was calming down a woman who made the emergency call, her estranged husband, 31-year-old Casey Dumas (pictured above), arrived with a gun.
Pohlmann says Dumas first threatened to kill himself by putting the weapon in his mouth, and then pointed the weapon at the cop.
According to the deputy, the man ignored repeated warnings, forcing the officer to shoot. Investigators say two bullets hit the man in the chest, killing him.
We asked Pohlmann is this was a "suicide by cop."
"It meets some of the characteristics of that, certainly," Pohlmann said.
Listen to Chief Deputy Pohlmann talk about the incident.
:02:24
Pohlmann said the incident was tragic, but unavoidable.
"Deputies and law enforcement officers around have to make split second decisions and they always revert back to their training, it's unfortunate that someone loses their life but we feel the deputy took appropriate action," Pohlmann said.
According to Pohlmann, the deputy's account so far checks out with witnesses; however, the officer has been placed on administrative duty until the probe of the incident is complete.
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